


this sky is lonely and grey

by inquisitor_tohru



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Developing Relationship, Domestic, Drinking, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29050188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru
Summary: "Obviously it wouldn't bereal.""Obviously."Hux proposes that he and Poe pose as a couple in order to secure an apartment.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31
Collections: Hoelidays Gift Exchange 2021





	this sky is lonely and grey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sourlander](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourlander/gifts).



The Coruscant cantina Hux had invited him to was a quaint kind of place, with delicate strings of twinkling lights adorning its heavily varnished oak walls. Decidedly not somewhere he'd have associated with Armitage Hux at all, if it hadn't been for the fact that they were known for serving the highest quality tarine tea in the city. While the cantina itself was staffed by organics, the owners supposedly had specially programmed droids to forage for the best tea leaves on Batuu. The distinctive scent of the tea filled Poe with a sense of nostalgia, but the flavour was too bitter for his tastes. He ordered a cup of caf, then waited for Hux to spill the beans.

"There's just one problem with it," he said, taking a sip of his too-hot tarine tea and wincing. Poe rolled his eyes. He hadn't minded offering to be Hux's guarantor when he'd run into difficulties renting an apartment. Even reformed war criminals needed a place to live, after all, and he'd been shuttled between various hostels for the last three years. Given that this was  _ Hux,  _ Poe had expected him to be a little fussy about his potential living space, but this was bordering on ridiculous.

"Only  _ one? _ Well, beggars can't be choosers, Hugs. And I hate to break it to you, but..."

"I'm a beggar, yes," Hux snapped, causing a couple of Rodian customers to glance their way, "don't worry, I am well aware of that fact." He sighed, resting his stupidly long fingers on the rim of his teacup. "While the decor leaves much to be desired, the apartment itself is  _ fine,  _ and I can afford it." 

"So what  _ is  _ the problem?"

"The landlord seems...very particular about the kind of tenants they're willing to rent to." Poe nodded, swallowing down a mouthful of cheap caf. There were laws against this kind of discrimination on Coruscant, and while he wasn't without sympathy for Hux, Poe could also see why someone might still be wary of letting an ex-First Order general shack up in their property.  _ Especially  _ Hux.

"You want me to talk to them?" 

"In a manner of speaking." Hux tensed, setting the chipped teacup down without drinking anything. "You see, they...they're keen to rent the property to a professional young... _ couple."  _ Poe laughed, because he honestly couldn't think of a more appropriate response.

"You know, if you want to ask someone out, you don't have to spin such an elaborate tale." Hux groaned, and his knuckles turned bone-white as he gripped the edge of the rustic little table between them.

"Obviously it wouldn't be  _ real." _

_ "Obviously." _

"You'd just need to be there when we sign the forms, and then we can both go back to our respective lives." It wasn't the situation he'd expected to be getting himself into when Hux had asked to meet him, but the solution seemed simple enough. It wasn't exactly  _ honest, _ but Poe couldn't imagine this particular brand of deception doing any lasting damage - it wasn't as if Hux was in any financial trouble or likely to be a destructive tenant. 

"Yeah, sure. Okay, I'll do it. So, where are we headed?"

"Concord Towers, in CoCo Town." It made sense, with Hux's workplace being in the beating heart of the rejuvenated factory district, thriving in the wake of the war. Poe decided not to comment on the irony of Hux living in an apartment block with  _ concord  _ in its name. Instead, he rose his mug in a friendly mockery of a toast.

"To CoCo Town, then." This was going to be a piece of cake.

Concord Towers was nothing special. The building's drab, grey exterior blended in with everything else in the district, and the apartment itself was decorated with gaudy pink and yellow striped wallpaper that reminded Poe of boiled sweets. But it was also comfortable, clean, and well furnished. There was only one problem.

"So, you've gotta tell me - how did you two meet?" Red bloomed from Hux's ears to his cheeks as Poe's fingers awkwardly intertwined with his, and Poe regretted not being able to give him more of a heads up. Neither of them had expected his prospective landlord to be so...chatty.

"At the end of the war," Poe said, "he saved my life, I saved his. And, well, you know." That much was true, at least. The thick-set besalisk smiled widely, two of his four arms reaching back to retrieve the cups of tea he'd absolutely insisted on serving.

"Now, that's real romance," he said, small amber eyes growing wistful, "just like in the holos. Have you been to Dex's Diner yet? It's not like it used to be - new ownership and all that - but it's still the best food this side of the Senate District. I'll tell you what, let's go tonight, my treat. To celebrate you moving into your new home!" 

"Really, you  _ shouldn't,"  _ Hux said through gritted teeth.

"What he  _ means _ is that's really too generous, Jed," Poe said, keen not to sound too impolite since the guy seemed nice, if a little odd, "we wouldn't want to impose at all." Hux glared at him as if to say  _ I know what I meant.  _

"Nonsense, I'd love to get to know the two of you." Maybe this was just Jed's way of finding out what kind of people he'd be dealing with for the duration of the tenancy, or maybe he was just grateful for some company. Either way, Poe didn't really mind. It was only one evening - how bad could it be?

"I thought you said your anniversary was  _ last  _ month." Jed frowned, tapping his huge brown nails on the table as he inspected his dessert before tucking in. Hux opened his mouth to speak, but Poe made sure to beat him to it. He might as well have a  _ little  _ fun.

"We have two. I count from when we first kissed, and Hugs counts from when we were first,  _ you know." _ He turned to wink at Hux, whose glare was positively murderous,  _ "intimate." _

"Oh, I see. Is that usual? To have sex  _ before _ kissing?"  _ Oh, crap.  _ Poe could have kicked himself, if Hux hadn't already done it for him.

"It  _ does  _ seem unusual, doesn't it?" Hux said icily, "but D-  _ Poe  _ is just full of surprises." Poe wasn't sure whether Jed was unused to interpreting human emotions and social cues or just really into his Sic-Six-layer cake, but it didn't really matter so long as he was off the hook - with the besalisk, at least. For now, Hux was busy taking his frustrations out on his own slice of cake, poking and prodding at it with his fork, and eating very little. But Poe had known him long enough that he knew he was bound to get an earful as soon as the opportunity arose.

Only, it didn't, really, since it turned out Jed's own living space was a scant few metres down the hall from Hux's newly rented apartment.

"Really?" Hux asked, incredulous.

"Apartment twenty-two seventeen. And I know you're an engineer, but if you need anything seeing to, or four extra hands, don't be shy about coming and knocking on my door." 

"Thank you," Poe said, "that's really kind of you." Jed grinned, his wide, puffy mouth seeming impossibly big. 

The three of them took an air taxi back to the Concord Towers, since it would have looked weird if Poe hadn't gone with them. The bright, multicoloured lights of Coruscant seemed to be in competition with the stars, until they came back down to the somber granite tones of CoCo Town. After saying goodnight, Poe flopped onto Hux's soft, corduroy sofa, exhaustion settling in as he shuffled the cushions about to get comfortable. 

By the time he woke, Hux had already left for work.

After that, it was around a month before his comm beeped, signalling an incoming transmission from CoCo Town, Coruscant. As usual, Hux was not inclined to waste time with small talk.

"Well, I've been spending more time with Jed, and one thing led to another-"

"Hugs," Poe exclaimed, both hands pressed over his heart in an approximation of shock and horror, "are you  _ cheating  _ on me?" Hux groaned and rubbed at his temples, like this whole conversation was starting to give him a headache. 

"It's not like  _ that.  _ He was helping me redecorate," Hux paused, smiling slightly, "he did a superb job, actually. Anyway, the reason I called...I told him you work away a lot, but he asked when you next had time off work. He wants to have dinner with us, and...it seemed impolite to say no." 

Poe sighed, and ran his fingers through his curls. He could see why it'd seem rude, especially when Jed had gone out of his way like that, and he seemed like a decent guy. The idea of Hux finding a friend in a two metre tall besalisk was a little weird, but it could only be a good thing, that he was open to mixing with more folks.

"I guess I can make time for dinner." It might even be nice, having someone cook for him. 

"Good. Tomorrow?"

"Wow," he chuckled, "thanks for the notice, Hugs." 

"I just- if you're busy, we can arrange another time." He watched the screen as Hux shifted uncomfortably, and decided to put him out of his misery.

"No, tomorrow's fine, really. I'll comm you when I reach Galactic City." It'd be fine. It was just one dinner.

Three months and  _ five  _ dinners went by, and Poe hadn't completely hated it, even if Hux's attempts at cooking were best left unmentioned. (Following that culinary disaster, Poe and Jed took turns cooking, or Hux bought takeout from Dex's on his way home from work.)

"How's work going?" Poe asked, as he got to scrubbing at one of Hux's sleek, matte black plates with a soapy sponge, "I would have asked before but..."

"I know." Hux actually  _ smiled.  _ "It was hard to get a word in edgeways. It's been a little slower, since the salvage droids naturally aren't bringing back as much First Order tech nowadays...but there are always plenty of people bringing things in for repairs."

"Sometimes slow can be good," Poe said, handing him the plate to dry, and fishing some cutlery out of the sink. Hux scrutinized the plate for a moment, and Poe briefly worried that he'd missed a speck of something or other.

"Yes," he replied, eventually, as he picked up the tea towel.

"You should stay the night," Hux said, after the sixth dinner, "I know Coruscanti hotels are expensive."

"Not the ones on the lower levels. I'm  _ kidding,  _ Hugs. Really, it's fine." Hux looked almost disappointed, though Poe couldn't see why he would be. "But look, if you want me to stay and help you take care of those beers Jed left, I'm all for that."

"I  _ do  _ hate beer," Hux grinned, opening the fridge, "so help yourself." Poe did just that, and picked out a green-tinted bottle with a white label. It wasn't a brand he was familiar with, but Jed generally had pretty good taste. Hux retrieved a bottle of red from one of his cupboards and poured himself a glass. Poe  _ was  _ familiar with that particular brand, if only because it was the only thing he'd seen Hux drink, other than tea.

The place was starting to look more homely - well, Hux's version of that - and the dark grey sofa was as comfortable as Poe remembered it being. He leaned back into the corduroy cushions as he took a swig of beer straight from the bottle (Hux had stopped offering him a glass after the second dinner). He wouldn't miss the hotel bed that much, and besides, he'd slept on Finn and Rey's couch plenty of times after a late night. This was no different, and it was only one night.

Poe didn't remember falling asleep, but he woke with Hux's head in his lap, red hair in disarray. He sighed, and carefully brushed the hair out of Hux's face, noticing where it had begun to fade to a rosy-blonde colour. He didn't really mind that much, but Hux was  _ definitely  _ going to be weird about it, so he spent the good part of five minutes trying to come up with an escape plan before accepting his fate. There was no getting out of this one.

"Hugs," he said, after another ten minutes had passed, "I know you're awake now. You can stop pretending." Hux's pale eyelashes fluttered as he opened his eyes, not looking at Poe.

"I'm- I must have had more to drink than intended," he said weakly, somehow managing to maneuver himself without touching Poe's thighs. 

"Don't worry about it, buddy. We've all been there." Well, maybe Hux hadn't, but that wasn't the point. His lap felt oddly empty when Hux sat up, and he considered placing a cushion over his knees, which was ridiculous. "Hey, do you maybe want to go to Dex's for breakfast?" 

"You mean...just the two of us?"

"Yeah. Just us." He watched as Hux went to the window, the pink and golden sunrise illuminating his bright, dishevelled hair against the durasteel landscape. 

"That sounds nice." Hux smiled, with his eyes, and Poe smiled back. It'd be fine.

It was only one date.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've seen _Spaced,_ you might have thought this premise seemed rather familiar, and you would be right. If not, go check it out, it's a fun show (that has nothing to do with space)


End file.
